Tagged: Michigan artists

Arts/Culture
4:55 pm
Fri September 2, 2011

Countdown to third annual ArtPrize begins

ArtPrize Executive Director Catherine Creamer shows off the ArtPrize totebag. The bag is one of at least 50 different pieces of ArtPrize swag available for purchase.
Lindsey Smith / Michigan Radio

Organizers and artists are working hard to get everything done in time for opening day later this month.

The winner of the art competition gets $250,000 in prize money. Organizers claim it’s the world’s largest art prize.

People who visit Grand Rapids during the event determine the winner through online voting.

Construction crews are finishing drywall and laying carpet inside the new ArtPrize hub. It’ll serve as a gathering place for volunteers and artists, a venue for a speaker series, and a retail store for all sorts of neat ArtPrize swag.

Read more
Arts/Culture
10:13 am
Fri May 13, 2011

Small art raises big bucks

Vibrant paintings by children will hang next to artwork from professional artists at the Circle of Art silent auction on Sunday, May 15th.

Sculptor and painter Valerie Mann came up with the idea for the art show seven years ago when she was wondering how she could help people in the area who were struggling economically.

She bounced the idea off her friend Peter Bowe.

Bowe is co-owner of Saline Picture Frame Company. He says, “When you have a business in a small town there’s a lot of need people are always asking for money to sponsor an event or that sort of stuff.”

The two friends figured they knew a lot of people who made art, had a cool space (the frame store) and had the tools and materials to mat and hang works of art.

So they asked folks to donate small pieces of artwork like a sketch they’d already done, or something that wouldn’t take too much effort to produce.

In seven years, they’ve made $100,000 and all the cash has gone to Food Gatherers, a non-profit that feeds people-in-need in Washtenaw County.

Read more
%s1 / %s2